Industry Spotlight, Kyle Brennan, Pro Pickleball Association

Industry Spotlight, Kyle Brennan, Pro Pickleball Association

What’s your current position?

I am the VP for Sports Commissions and am brand new to the position and industry, having only been in my current role for three months. I spent the last 20 years in college athletics, so it is nice to be involved with an emerging professional sport and work with our leadership to grow the sport nationwide.

My job is to connect with Convention and Visitors Bureaus and Sports Commissions and work together to bring professional pickleball events to their communities. A lot of detail goes into putting an event in a city, so starting with a strong relationship with a CVB/Sports Commission is critical to work through all the challenges of a live event.

What would you say most motivates you to do what you do?

I am encouraged by the growth of our fantastic product. Pickleball is a social sport that brings people together and is competitive; anyone can pick it up and immediately succeed. The ease of entry to the sport from a skill standpoint differentiates us from other sports like tennis and golf, which have a social aspect but require a highly developed skill set. I am excited to help bring this product to the country for people to participate in and from a professional standpoint. We provide an exhilarating sport to watch and engage with.

I am excited that pickleball is growing worldwide and reaching more people daily. It is a sport anyone can play. Speed, strength, and size don’t predetermine success, and I am so excited it brings people of all ages and abilities together. In my previous career in college sports, we were more exclusive in who could play for you, but in pickleball, both amateur and professional, there are tremendous opportunities for enjoyment and success.

The first goal I want to achieve in my work is to be a part of bringing pickleball to as many people as possible. In my job, I am tasked with taking pickleball to different communities, and I am always the happiest when we can partner with someone who has created a pickleball facility. We take advantage of every chance we get to support these efforts of local court owners as we grow pickleball.

The second goal is to be a part of sustaining a fantastic culture that has been built by people like Connor Pardoe and Bryce Morgan at the PPA. Our staff loves their jobs, treats each other well, works hard, has fun, and loves the sport. I am so blessed to be here and be part of this fantastic atmosphere, and my goal is to be someone who helps strengthen this work culture.

What led you to this job?

Before joining the PPA, I was in college athletics for 20 years. I was led to this job by Kim Van Dyke, who has the enormous task of coordinating all the travel for the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA). She was a family friend in Utah, and since the PPA leadership is from Utah, I was able to meet and connect with them. Last June, Kim invited me to a tournament in Atlanta with Peachtree City’s assistance. I was blown away. They had sponsors like Carvana, Miller Lite, Vizzy, and Southwest Airlines. The event was being broadcast on ESPN+ and Amazon, and the center court had two VIP areas and two substantial video walls. I realized this was bigtime athletics, and I was very impressed. I was also blown away by how the amateurs could play where the pros play and how they had unprecedented access to the professional players. The entire atmosphere was unique, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a small dairy farming community in Lynden, Washington, five miles from the Canadian border. It was a great place to grow up. It taught me the value of hard work as we all started working in agriculture in sixth grade. It gave me an appreciation for hard work and physical labor but also showed me that my path was to be educated as I wanted to do something with my mind. I went to college at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. It is a small Division III liberal arts college that my Dad had a connection to, and since he was paying, that is where I went. It was the best thing that happened to me. I discovered a love of higher education and met my wife at Calvin, which changed my life and put me on my path.

Did you have any key mentors or people who profoundly influenced who you are, what you believe in, and what you’re committed to in your work and life?

I have several mentors.

First is Dr. Chris Hill, the Athletic Director at the University of Utah for 31 years. He, as with all my mentors, taught me the importance of personal relationships and to treat everyone well. He also made decisions that were always best for the organization, even if they hurt him personally. He always put the institution first.

My second mentor is Marcy Girton, a deputy athletic director who has been involved in college athletics at many of the top universities in the country. She and I got to work together at TCU, and I learned from her that your work is basically divided into relationships and tasks, and she always puts relationships first. I remembered that no matter what she was doing, she would take the time for anyone who stopped by her office needing assistance. I would watch her spend eight hours a day with people, and then when everyone left, she would begin her tasks. I was impressed with how she valued people, and I took this with me.

Finally, I would say Dr. Teri Goss Kinzy, a former college president. She taught me the value of holding yourself accountable without beating yourself up. It sounds easy, but this is a challenge for me. Often, we can hold ourselves accountable but then beat ourselves up if we don’t achieve our objectives. She taught me how to adjust goals based on circumstances, and this accountability with freedom made it easier for me to aim higher than I thought I could achieve.

What projects are you working on now?

The project I am working on is a three-year commitment with a city near the West Coast. The relationship between our organization and the CVB we were working with was significant concerning working on items they could help us with to relieve our costs at their tournament site. We encountered some resistance from the County, but the CVB and the City supported our event, and these people were able to help us get through the issues with the County. I attribute this to the relationships built and the quality of the people we work with.

Kyle, the Professional Pickleball Association, produces a huge number of events annually. Yet, you always seek more to help expand the sport and the PPA’s offerings. How do you and your team handle the day-today workflow?

This is a great question. As any organization grows, there are some pains. Still, the PPA has done a very good job at defining roles and responsibilities, but at the same time, it is an “all hands on deck” mentality where even our CEO is willing to fold up chairs, take down an event, or pick up trash. This attitude makes its way throughout our organization. Everybody is willing to do any job asked of them and also help their colleagues in their tasks.

What gets you out of bed every day to continue your drive? What motivates your work ethic?

I get out of bed every morning excited to be a part of the PPA and to work in a great organization with amazing people. We have all had jobs that were difficult or had a negative environment. That is not the case at the PPA. People love what they do, the product we produce, and the sport. This energy, enthusiasm, and joy is contagious and motivates me every day to do my best.

What would you say are your best skills?

My best skill is working well with people by building relationships. I have taken from each mentor of mine that relationships are critical to success, and I have witnessed it firsthand many times throughout my career.

I bring the ability to connect with people from all walks of life and bring them together to achieve a common goal. Working with CVB’s and Sport Commissions I get the opportunity to build relationships and work together to bring a complex event to life. The skills I have are mostly natural. I am a believer that you do what you are best at and don’t worry about getting the skills you don’t have. For me, the important thing was learning from my mentors what was important for success, and then I just put my skills into these areas the best way I could. At the end of the day, you won’t have success trying to be something you are not, so my goal is to remain true to myself and simply apply the skills I have where they fit best.

What’s next for you in your work?

My goal is to continue to work and learn as I am so new to this sport. As I grow, my hope is to diversify what I do so I can be as supportive as possible of the PPA. My career goal is to work with the PPA to continue to grow pickleball into a sport that rivals many traditional sports like tennis and golf. The only limits we have are ones we put on ourselves, and I am convinced that PPA, under the leadership of Connor Pardoe, will continue to grow and defy expectations. I want to be here for the entire ride and look forward to what we will achieve as a team at PPA.